Appliances that heat grillable food or other grillable substances by causing microwave energy to be absorbed by an intermediate body, such as a block of ferrite, which in turn transfers heat to the grillable food, which we shall refer to herein as microwave grills, have been known for more than twenty years.
These appliances inherently require no ventilation of burned fuels and thus can be used in a small kitchen, use a ready source of energy, and are very fast as compared to conventional grills. Yet a commercially successful microwave grill has never been produced. The reason is that prior art microwave grills have never reached the degree of reliability and ease of use expected for kitchen appliances, particularly in the upscale homes and businesses that would tend to use such grills.
Freedman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,917, describe a block of ferrite binded to a microwave transparent cover. Teich et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,403, describes a silicone material having ferrite material dispersed within the silicone binded to a microwave transparent cover. The ferrite material in these references continuously contacts the microwave transparent cover and transfers heat across the whole of the microwave transparent cover making the microwave transparent cover uncomfortable to the touch of a user. In addition, these designs do not include a suitable means for handling grease and other liquids that are generated in the grilling process.
Levinson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,718, describes a vertical microwave grilling apparatus with a separate collection container. This arrangement requires alignment between the grilling apparatus and the collection container and is really too messy to appeal to the average upscale griller.
Barnes, U.S. Pat. No. 6,608,292, discloses a microwave grill having a cover that is pivotally mounted to the base. The cover and base each include a grill element. After preheating, food is placed between the grill elements and the microwave grill is placed in a microwave oven to cook the food.